The Balch Library and its documents provide rich
information about the history of African Americans in antebellum
Loudoun and afterwards, including the legal impact of the 13th,
14th, and 15th amendments. Further, the library documents
the struggles of blacks and other civil rights leaders to insure
the full equality promised by these post-Civil War additions to
the U.S. Constitution. The Balch Library, for its efforts to preserve
and document the history of African Americans in this region,
has been named as a member of the National
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

Our goal is to:

Provide some of the primary documents and excerpts from
secondary sources available at the Balch Library that will be
useful to you as you prepare teaching units on various aspects
of African American history; moreover, all of the materials at
this site tell the story of African American history from a Loudoun
County perspective. While we offer only a “glimpse”
of the African American’s history in Loudoun, we have included
at least five documents to support each of the eight Essential
Understandings listed below. As we have time we will
add other documents, so that eventually the teacher will have
a rich source of information on this important aspect of American
history.

Click here to view supporting
documents for all of the
Essential Understandings. For supporting documents for
an individual Essential Understanding, click on the “see
details” prompt at the end of each listing below.

1.

Until the Emancipation Proclamation
and the ratification of the 13th Amendment, Virginia was a
slave state. Although the relationship between slaves and
their owners cannot be described in simple terms, with job
descriptions and treatment varying from place to place, slaves
were by definition not free, and were considered
property. (See
details)

2.

Although the institution of slavery was firmly in place
in Loudoun, some people in the county had no slaves at all;
further, some groups, such as the Society of Friends, actively
opposed it.(See
details)

3.

In ante-bellum Virginia, some blacks were
free. However, free blacks were subject to “black
laws” enacted by the Virginia Legislature. While
some of these laws protected free blacks, most limited their
freedom. Despite these limiting conditions, some free blacks
worked to resist the enslavement of their brethren. (See
details)

4.

The Emancipation
Proclamation (January 1, 1863) freed some slaves, but
the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution freed all. The Fourteenth
and Fifteenth
Amendments insured the citizenship of all persons born in
the United States. The documents from the time immediately
after the Civil War reflect efforts by various groups to
solve post-war problems and adapt to the new political,
social, and economic order. Nevertheless, the adjustments
of both blacks and whites to this reconstruction environment
proved challenging. (See
details)

5.

Although amendments to the Constitution
that promised blacks the same rights as other citizens, blacks
were often denied the right to vote, restricted in their access
to public places, and required by law to attend segregated
schools that were inferior to those offered to whites. Despite
these limiting conditions, black communities developed strong
institutions of support, including the church. (See
details)

6.

By the mid-1930s, certain activist African American organizations were stepping up efforts to ensure that the rights described in the U.S. Constitution were realized. (See
details)

7.

During the 1950s and 60s, Supreme Court decisions and acts of Congress provided support for the language inherent in the 14th and 15th amendments. These decisions galvanized local civil rights and community groups as they continued efforts to guarantee “equal protection under the law” for American citizens. (See
details)

8.

During times of war and peace, many Loudoun County African Americans have served their nation honorably in the United States armed services.
(See
details)

Loudoun County teachers of these courses will find the material
at this site very useful: